Thief of Hearts
by Dusk Dreaming
Summary: Blaine Haidari never dreamed she would turn into a thief. But when her little brother is kidnapped by a shadowy organisation, she steals a Pokemon from a local research lab and vows to bring him back, no matter the consequences.
1. Oviraptrix

She crouches in the long grass outside the lab, feeling the cool breeze caress her face. A window is open a few feet away, and through it she can hear the sound of Dr Ang's cheerful voice speaking to itself as he bustles around in the incubation room. That voice is very familiar to her: how many times has the good doctor welcomed her into his lab and shared his knowledge of the beautiful creatures called Pokemon, while she listened, rapt, and drank in every word…

"Let's see now… humidity at 24 percent… Life signs normal… I'd better shut that window in a few minutes, else you won't hatch, my little babies!" He croons and murmurs to the matured eggs, like a mother hen fussing over her brood.

A faint crash is heard in the distance, and Dr Ang's footsteps swiftly retreat from the room. This is the chance she's been waiting for. Without hesitation, she launches herself from her crouch and races to the window. She climbs through and there she sees what she's after: a clutch of pokemon eggs nestled in an incubator, glowing in all the colours of the rainbow. Without pause, without stopping to think of what she's doing, she snatches up one of the eggs and cradles it in her arms.

She leaps back out of the window and begins to run as fast as she can, her feet pounding too loudly against the pavement (someone's going to stop her, any moment now a police officer will yell, "Stop, thief!"), she runs and runs and runs until she leaves the town behind and travels far into the soft green gloom of the forest. Only then does she stop and collapse, gasping for breath, leaning against the sturdy trunk of a tree, the egg clasped to her chest.

She feels the warmth of the egg against her skin, flowing through its shell, the faint movements from within that tell her the egg is alive and will hatch soon. She holds the egg before her face and sees that it is a rich yellow colour, striped with a dark chocolate brown.

She finally owns her first pokemon. She should feel joy, she should feel excitement, she should feel something. But all she can feel is a dull hollowness, a sick empty sensation in her stomach. She's a thief now, outside the law. Her brother is gone. This wasn't how she wanted her pokemon journey to begin.

* * *

><p>Russell's mom was in the living room, watching <em>The Bold and the Beautifly.<em>

"Mom, is there anything for lunch?" Russell asked. On the TV screen, a blonde woman was gazing with soulful intensity into the eyes of her lover.

"_Oh, Desmond, of course I love you. My love for you is as deep and everlasting as the ocean. But if I marry you, who will evolve my wurmple into a silcoon?"_

Mrs Toyoda's eyes were glued to the TV. "I didn't cook anything today. Last night's noodles are in the fridge."

"Okay, thanks."

"_Belinda, I know how much this pokemon means to you. Please, accept this rare candy as a token of my love and devotion."_

"_Oh, Desmond!"_

Russell went back to the kitchen and got out last night's noodles. He was heating them up when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, may I speak to Russell Toyoda, please?" _It was a young man's voice, formal and educated.

"I'm Russell."

"_Hello, Russell. My name is Jibreel Coconut. I'm a researcher at Nova Lab. I believe you contacted us to express your interest in volunteering."_

"Oh, right." Russell shifted the phone to a more comfortable position and sat himself on a chair. "Yeah, I saw your ad looking for volunteers with pokemon and, well, I used to love pokemon when I was younger. So I thought I would give it a try."

"_We're always pleased to have new volunteers, especially those who genuinely care about pokemon research. You live in Nova Town, don't you? Would it be possible for you to come in this afternoon? We have… something of a situation on our hands."_

"A situation? I hope it's not serious."

"_It seems that someone has stolen a pokemon egg from our lab! The egg was rare and valuable._"

"You're kidding! Well, I guess I can come in this afternoon. I don't have any plans. Is half an hour okay?"

"_That would be great. Thanks a lot. Oh, and make sure to bring some ID with you._"

"Okay, Professor. See you in a little while."

Once his noodles were ready, Russell took them into the living room to sit with his Mom. "What's happening this week?" he asked.

"Oh, it's so exciting," Mrs Toyoda said. "Desmond has finally proposed to Belinda, but she can't accept it because she wants to become a pokemon trainer. She needs to enter a Beautifly into the local bug show in order to win enough money to become a great trainer and search for her family, who mysteriously disappeared when a legendary pokemon attacked Citrus City."

"Hmm. I see. Listen, mom, I'm going out for a bit. I'm going to be doing some volunteering down at the lab."

"That's nice, dear. Have a good time."

"You'll have to look after the house while I'm away. Don't leave the stove on or leave the front door open or anything."

"Yes, dear, you don't have to worry about a thing. I promise I won't do anything silly this time."

Russell left his Mom with her beloved soap opera and went up to his room to get dressed. He wanted to make a good impression, but he wasn't sure exactly what to wear. In the end he settled for comfortable blue jeans and the red t-shirt with a stylized fearow on it that made him look somewhat presentable.

He went downstairs and found Surya, his charmander, curled up in a patch of sunshine, the flame on his tail burning peacefully as he slept.

"Come on, boy. I need you to get in your pokeball for a bit. We're going for a trip. You'll like it, there'll be lots of new pokemon for you to make friends with."

He said goodbye to his mother, locked the front door and cycled off.


	2. The Skill of the Trainer

_One week ago_

Blaine watched with envy as Lachlan and Florian practised their moves on the grass. It wasn't fair that her brother was allowed to have a pokemon while she wasn't. She knew so much more about them than he did, but because he was younger and was a boy, he was allowed to do things that she would never be able to.

A couple of trainers strolled by and Lachlan ran up to them eagerly to issue a battle challenge. Blaine's heart began to beat faster in excitement. She loved battles and knew all kinds of strategies for winning them, though she'd never been in one herself. It was because of her advice that Lachlan had won enough matches for his bellsprout to evolve into a weepinbell.

One of the trainers agreed to fight Lachlan, and the other would act as referee. The three boys spread out over the grass, taking their positions on the field.

"Go, Florian!" shouted Lachlan, ordering his weepinbell out in front of him. The other trainer sent out a pidgey, an interesting choice. The pidgey had a type advantage, but weepinbell was an evolved pokemon with a higher level, and a skilled trainer would be able to win the match. Unfortunately Lachlan didn't have a clue what he was doing.

"Florian! Acid!"

Florian reared back and spat a glob of purple liquid at the enemy pidgey, but it darted out of the way and retaliated with a Gust attack that hit the weepinbell head on, knocking it back a few paces. It was stupid of Lachlan to use Acid at that range – pidgey were swift flying pokemon, so the attack had no chance of hitting unless the weepinbell closed the distance between the pair. Blaine already knew what to do.

Even Lachlan could see that a direct attack wouldn't work. "Okay, Florian. Stun Spore!"

The weepinbell opened its cavernous mouth once again and this time exhaled a flurry of golden particles, which wafted through the air towards the pidgey.

"Comet! Blow it back with Whirlwind!" called the opposing trainer, and the pidgey flapped its wings so rapidly they became a blur of brown and tan, whipping up a fierce wind that scattered the golden dust to the ground. Florian narrowly missed being hit by his own attack as the Stun Spore blew back.

"Hit back with Gust!"

Another gust of wind was launched towards Florian, striking its target and sending him tumbling backwards. The weepinbell was starting to show signs of damage after having been hit with two Gusts in a row. He was breathing heavily and his leaves were noticeably tattered.

Blaine marched on to the field and stopped right next to her brother.

"What are you doing?" she said irritably. "You're losing the match. Don't you know how to battle?"

"Go away," barked Lachlan, his little hands balling into fists. "I don't need your help. Florian and I can win this on our own."

"Yeah, I can see that. You're doing such a great job."

"All right, Comet! Keep up the Gust attacks!" ordered Lachlan's opponent. The pidgey drew its wings back and snapped them forward again and again, launching blasts of air at Lachlan's weepinbell.

"Dodge it!" Lachlan called. Blaine could hear the desperation in his voice. It was a stupid command, again. Weepinbell were not known for their agility.

Florian tried his hardest to avoid the attacks, but although he dodged the first two, he was hit by the next one, two, three attacks in quick succession. Buffeted by gusts of wind, his yellow body rolled and bounced along the grassy field, bruised and dusty. This match would be over soon unless Lachlan grew a brain.

"Pathetic," Blaine declared. "Just pathetic."

"It's not my fault!" Lachlan snapped. "Pidgey has the type advantage."

"And you have the level advantage. There's more to winning a match than the strength of the pokemon. The skill of the trainer makes all the difference. If I were battling in your place I would win easily."

"Oh, yeah? All right then. If you're so smart, you give the commands."

"Tell Florian to do what I say."

"Florian!" Lachlan shouted. "Do what Blaine tells you, since she knows everything."

Blaine stepped forward, facing the field and her opponent. She was ready for action. She was born ready for this.

"Florian!" she shouted. "Wrap!"

The weepinbell wearily picked itself up and struck out with the brown vine sprouting from its head, the vine extending smoothly as it shot through the air towards the startled pidgey. When the vine struck its target, it pulled the tiny bird pokemon out of the air, bringing it crashing to the ground, wrapping its body tightly in coil upon coil of thick brown material, squeezing and choking the life out of it. The pidgey struggled to break free, but the evolved weepinbell had superior strength, and the pidgey's wings were crushed against its sides, rendering it unable to use its attacks.

"Now!" Blaine called. "Pull it closer and use Sleep Powder!" The pidgey was dragged closer to Florian and dusted with a generous spray of white powder from the weepinbell's mouth. Its frantic struggles slowed and finally ceased as it slumped in the weepinbell's coils, snoring peacefully. Good, that should keep the pidgey from escaping and buy Blaine the time she needed while she prepared herself.

"Now, dust it with Stun Spore and Poison Powder, and follow it up with Growth." Two more nasty status ailments would slow the pidgey down when it finally woke up - if it woke up before she was done. The weepinbell took advantage of its opponent's defenceless state to smother it with two more bursts of toxic powder, before going still and gathering its energy, its body growing in size.

"Comet!" shouted the opposing trainer. "Hey, Comet! Snap out of it! Come on, wake up!"

"Keep up the Growth until the pidgey starts to wake," Blaine ordered. The more time they had, the better it would be for her. The tension on the field stretched as the pidgey snored on and Florian's gold and green form continued to grow in size, slowly but surely. One minute passed, then another. The pidgey began to stir, feebly turning its head from side to side as the Sleep Powder began to wear off.

"Now, Florian!" Blaine commanded. "Hit it with Acid!"

The weepinbell unleashed a spray of purple liquid at point-blank range, the pidgey still wrapped in the weepinbell's coils and unable to dodge. As the harsh acid engulfed the pidgey, it screeched and struggled fiercely, its little body scorched by the corrosive chemical solution. It managed to pull away and flap a few times through the air, but it collapsed to the ground, trembling, weakened by constriction, burnt by acid and poisoned by toxic dust.

"One more time!" Blaine yelled. "Finish it off!"

Florian delivered one final burst of acid, and the last of the pidgey's strength deserted it: it fell to the ground and lay stretched out on the grass in a faint.

"Aww! Comet, return." The opposing trainer called his pidgey back into its pokeball. "That was a good battle. You're an excellent strategist," he said to Blaine. He turned and added, to Lachlan, "I would have beat you if your big sister hadn't stepped in. Maybe next time you can battle me on your own, without her holding your hand." With a final smirk, he went off with his friend.

Lachlan, hurt and angry, ran away with Florian bouncing after him. But Blaine stood where she was, her heart thumping with excitement, adrenaline rushing through her veins, reliving the last moments of that battle again and again in her head. This was what she had dreamed of, the sweet taste of victory. It seemed to her that the colours of the park were brighter, the blue of the sky more vivid, the green of the trees more beautiful, the wind rushing past her face and playing with her hair.

She was born to do this. She was destined to be a pokemon trainer. Why couldn't her parents understand that?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Thanks for the reviews, colbyjackchz and japaneserockergirl! If you guys can bear with me for the opening chapters, which will be kind of slow and scene-building, I think I might have an interesting story on my hands.

Reviews are very encouraging, even if you have no con crit or detailed response, a simple "I liked it" is good enough to let me know that someone is reading. Hope you guys stick around.


	3. CSI: Nova Town

Nova Labs was a large research complex located in the wealthier eastern side of Nova Town. It consisted of a main laboratory and several other buildings surrounded by pleasant grounds. Russell chained his bike to the rack outside before entering the main building. He knew his way around pretty well from previous visits, and he headed straight to Dr Ang's office. On his way there, he heard voices from the incubation room, so he made a quick detour and entered the little egg storage facility.

The incubation room contained what looked like long silver boxes, sealed with glass covers through which you could see the rows of brightly coloured eggs within. Each machine provided the correct temperature, humidity and other conditions for the eggs of different species to develop and hatch into healthy pokemon. Currently the room also contained four men who were engaged in conversation: Dr Ang, a police officer and two other scientists Russell hadn't met before.

"There you are, Russell!" said Dr Ang, the first to catch sight of him. The others turned towards Russell as well, and Russell saw that the police officer was none other than his sister's boyfriend, Min Kim. "Everyone, this is Russell Toyoda, a friend of mine and a budding amateur biologist. Russell, this is Police Officer Kim."

"I know Russell," said Min Kim quietly, with a nod of his head. He was wearing his blue uniform and holding a port device in his left hand, apparently in the process of taking notes. Russell nodded back to Min. He wasn't sure that he liked Min very much.

"And this is my colleague, Professor Coconut," continued Dr Ang, "and his nephew Neel, a budding young scientist in his own right."

"How do you do," said Professor Coconut, shaking Russell's hand, and his nephew followed suit.

"I'm good, thanks," Russell replied. Professor Coconut was a tall, distinguished-looking man with a red-brown complexion, sharp, handsome features, greying hair, prim spectacles and an intense gaze. His nephew was young, about Russell's age, rather smaller and skinnier than his uncle, with dark brown skin and messy black hair that stuck up at the back. His face had the same attractive quality as his uncle's, but his features were slightly softer, more gentle and boyish, with an intelligent, mischievous expression.

Dr Ang turned back to Min. "Well, Officer, as I was saying, I really don't want to press charges. I'm sure this can be resolved without all that legal business."

Min frowned, tapping at the screen of his port. "That may not be your choice to make, Doctor. What we have here is a criminal matter. If someone is going 'round stealing pokemon eggs, that is a concern for the entire community."

"We don't even know that someone has stolen an egg yet. It could have been any number of things. Sometimes wild ekans or seviper get into people's houses and eat eggs. It's been known to happen."

"Yes, but would a wild pokemon only steal one egg, leaving the others untouched? And would it know how to open an incubator machine? Possible, but unlikely. Besides, preliminary investigation has already revealed that a human was responsible for this." Min pointed out the window, where a large, shaggy pokemon was pacing back and forth, its nose pressed to the ground. Russell recognised it as a herdier. "According to Snooky, a human was loitering outside the window for some time. It entered the room and took an egg before heading in the direction of Timber Forest."

"Snooky?" Russell asked.

"Hey, I didn't name it," Min said defensively. "It's a police pokemon."

"Could the PLA be behind this?" asked Neel Coconut excitedly.

"PLA?" Russell hadn't heard of that before.

"The Pokemon Liberation Army. A dangerous terrorist organisation," explained Min. "Basically a bunch of pokemon rights extremists. They believe that it's wrong for humans to own pokemon, or 'enslave' them, as they put it. They have a history of attacking trainers or anyone who owns pokemon, particularly scientists who do research."

"I have some sympathy for the PLA's aims, but their methods are abhorrent," Professor Coconut announced. "It's true that in many parts of the world, we humans treat pokemon disgracefully. I am sorry to say that I have seen some cruelties perpetrated in the name of scientific research. We all want an improvement in pokemon rights, but there must be a way to do it without violence or intimidation. Defending pokemon by terrorising humans defeats the entire purpose of activism. Besides, as Mr Darwin discovered, humans are just another kind of pokemon anyway."

"Humans… are a kind of pokemon?" asked Russell. He was asking a lot of questions today. He hoped it wasn't making him look stupid, but people always said the only way to learn was to ask questions."What does that mean?"

Professor Coconut looked at him severely. "Young man, have you never heard of Evolution?"

"You mean like, when a pikachu turns into a raichu?"

"No, not that type of evolution. That is intra-species evolution, a kind of metamorphosis triggered by individual growth or altered conditions in a pokemon's environment, in which the pokemon changes its phenotype without changing its genotype. I am talking about Evolution proper, the gradual change over time from one species of pokemon into another."

Russell was confused. "Wait, so you mean… like, a pikachu can turn into a bulbasaur? Because that would be really weird. I've never heard of that happening."

Professor Coconut shook his head. "Of course pikachu doesn't suddenly turn into a bulbasaur. That would be absurd. It doesn't work that way. Rather, both pikachu and bulbasaur are descended from a common ancestor that lived hundreds of millions of years ago."

"You know, Professor, not everyone believes in so-called Evolution," Min put in. "Some people believe that all pokemon were created by Arceus."

"Indeed," said Professor Coconut. "And some people believe that all pokemon were created by Ho-oh, while others maintain that it was Dialga and Palkia, or Reshiram and Zekrom. What all these hypotheses have in common is that they have no solid evidence to support them. They are based on old stories, myths and legends that were handed down by our ancestors. Until we see some proof of the existence of Arceus, Ho-oh, or any of the other legendary pokemon that people believe in, such stories of 'special creation' are, from a scientific point of view, not to be taken seriously."

"But there are lots of believers who're convinced that they've really seen legendary pokemon," said Min. "Just the other day on the news, I saw this woman in Scarlet Town who claimed she'd seen a manifestation of Moltres appearing to her in a blaze of fire and glory. She was very convincing, I thought."

"People claim to have seen all sorts of things," Professor Coconut said. "Not only legendary pokemon, but UFOs, ghosts and fairies. The human mind is a curious thing and it often plays tricks on us. Eyewitness testimony is not reliable unless it can be backed up by hard evidence. Surely a police officer such as yourself must be aware of that. "

"You're probably right, Professor," said Min. "I don't think you'll persuade many believers, though. I'd love to talk science all day, but we have a crime to solve. The PLA was definitely not behind this. This isn't their modus operandi. When they hit a science lab, they trash the place and take as many pokemon as they can, and they usually hurt the lab workers as well. It's not a professional job, either. I'd say we're dealing with a petty thief who spotted an easy opportunity and grabbed it."

"I find that hard to believe," said Dr Ang. "Nova Town is a small, close-knit community."

"Exactly why this needs to be solved right away," replied Min. "Nothing destroys the trust of a small, close-knit community faster than a criminal on the loose."

"Plus, if you don't solve it soon, the police force might end up with egg on its face!" added Neel brightly. "Ahaha!"

Min gave him a withering look. "I'm going back to the station, and when I return I'll have back up. We'll search the incubator for fingerprints and DNA, and then we'll follow the scent trail into the forest. In the meantime, professors, I would ask you to stay out of this room, to refrain from touching the incubator, and to not disturb anything that's in here."

Min put his hat on, called Snooky back into its pokeball and nodded respectfully to the researchers. On his way out he paused and said to Russell, "Your sister asked after you. She wanted to know if you were doing okay."

"I'm fine," Russell said shortly. "She can always call me."

"She hasn't seen you in person for a while. She wants to know if you're taking up pokemon training and going on a gym tour like you said you would. It might be a good idea, since you're not studying or working at the moment. It could be a good opportunity."

"I haven't decided yet," Russell said, and looked away. He hoped Min would take the hint and leave him alone. Russell didn't know exactly what his plans for the future were, but one thing he did know was that he didn't want his sister and especially not her boyfriend giving him advice on how to run his life.

Min was obviously too daft to take a hint."Your sister said if you go on a gym tour, you could drop by Fortia. A lot of new trainers do, because there's a D-class gym there. Then we could spend some time with each other, she said."

_Your sister said this, she said that... Hasn't this guy got a mind of his own? I'm glad I don't have a girlfriend if it means giving up your free will._ "If she really wanted to spend time with us she could come home and visit once in a while," Russell said, more sharply than he'd intended. He softened his tone a little and added, "I'll see how things go. I can't just drop everything and leave home to do what I want. _Someone_ has to look after Mom. Some of us have responsibilities. Catch you later." He didn't care if his sister came home or not, but it made his mother sad, and Mom didn't need any extra stress in her condition. Honestly, if his sister wanted to spend her time gallivanting around with her precious boyfriend and never coming home, it didn't bother him one bit.

Once Min had finally taken his leave, the rest of them moved to Dr Ang's office.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

Thanks so much for the reviews, colbyjackchz and Cookie Krisp!

_Colbyjackchz:_ Keep reading, I'll try not to disappoint!

_Cookie Crisp:_ I'm glad you like Blaine's personality. I think she's strong and capable, but she's also cruel and insensitive and a bit messed up, as later chapters will reveal. It's partly because of her home life. I hope her character will mature as she travels around and gains some positive experiences. Russell might seem a bit bland and boring, especially compared to Blaine. But... later chapters will develop his character, too. That's the plan, anyway. Hope you stay tuned.


	4. Be Careful What You Wish For

_One week ago_

Dinner in the Haidari household was a formal affair. Servants spread the table with fine cloth, set elegant candelabra and tall vases of freshly-cut flowers, laid out the plates, cutlery and napkins in elaborate patterns, everything in its proper place. The proceedings were modelled on the dining customs of the old Kingdom of Angl Island. Hardly anybody kept up these traditions any more, but Blaine's parents had a taste for old, pretentious things.

All four members of the family took their places at the table, by paternal decree. It was the only time of day the whole family were together.

Blaine's father spent all his time in conferences with political colleagues. He was such a noble man, making the welfare of his nation a higher priority than spending time with his wife and children, no doubt a great sacrifice on his part. Blaine's mother was occupied with her high society friends, who got together for card games and lovely social outings to the theatre, art gallery or museum. It gave them a wonderful opportunity to share the latest gossip while showing off their newest trophies: a pair of diamond earrings, a Hui Crouton handbag, a son accepted into Bodhi Tree University, a daughter studying Law.

Lachlan, being a boy, was allowed to have _fun_. He roamed around with his weepinbell, Florian, doing whatever he felt like. He could run around in the park, go to the pokemon gym, challenge trainers, explore the forest, play in mud puddles and swim in the river. There was a time, long ago, when Blaine had been allowed to do those things, until one day her mother had told her that she must stop engaging in unladylike behaviour, that she was too old for those little boys' games, that she was getting older and had to start acting like it.

Nobody had time for Blaine except for her nanny Sara, an older woman, kind, foolish and deeply religious, who had looked after Blaine since she was a little girl and was completely devoted to her. When Blaine was younger, she had delighted in tormenting Sara by inventing all kinds of tricks to play on her. Once Blaine painted herself with red marks, cried for help and lay still under a tree. When Sara found Blaine lying apparently unconscious, the poor woman thought Blaine had been stung by a swarm of beedrill, and had hysterics. Another time Blaine laid some of her clothes down by the river and hid in a tree, knowing that Sara would come along and think that Blaine had gone for a swim and not come back. The old woman had yelled frantically and eventually waded into the river with her clothes on to try and rescue Blaine. The sight of Sara, usually so proper and dignified, emerging from the river with her clothes soaking wet, had made Blaine laugh until she almost fell out of the tree.

She had gotten in trouble for all her pranks. Her mother had asked her why she did such ridiculous things, and was this her idea of a joke? Blaine had replied that if only her parents paid attention to her, maybe she wouldn't have to resort to risky attention-seeking behaviour. Her mother hadn't been impressed, telling her to stop using pop psychology as an excuse for immaturity, and by the way, reading too much is a bad idea, especially for girls.

Blaine had grown up mostly alone. Not fitting in with the other girls at school, who were shallow and empty-headed and reminded her too much of her mother, she preferred to spend time on her own, reading and thinking. The one good thing about her house was that there was no shortage of reading material. They had an enormous library with subscriptions to several newspapers and journals, although the library was mostly there to lend the place a certain educated air, as nobody ever really used it apart from Blaine. She read about everything she could get her hands on: literature, science, art, politics and especially pokemon. Books provided her with the companionship and education she never got from people, and the characters inside their pages became the friends and family she'd never had.

Although Sara was rather dim-witted, Blaine had to thank her for an important piece of education. The old woman was full of nonsense stories and fairytales about how legendary pokemon had created the world. For example, once she had told Blaine that the seas, oceans and rivers were created by a giant pokemon called Kyogre swimming by a long time ago, while the land was created by a giant pokemon called Groudon. She also said that the stars were made by Ho-oh and hung in the sky to help guide people home.

But later Blaine read that the ground was actually formed by magma being extruded from deep sea oceanic vents, cooling and solidifying as it came into contact with seawater. As for the water, it had condensed from the atmosphere billions of years ago when the Earth was formed. And the stars? They were gigantic balls of plasma burning in space billions of miles away, powered by nuclear fusion reactions. It turned out that everything Sara had told her was not only wrong, but completely made up. That had taught Blaine that adults didn't know everything, although they pretended to. If she wanted to find the answers to her questions, she would have to go and find them herself, rather than trusting what anybody else told her.

At first they ate dinner in silence, the only sounds at the table the soft clink of cutlery.

"How's school going?" Blaine's father asked eventually.

"Good," replied Blaine dully.

"You should apply yourself to your studies, Blaine," said Blaine's mother. "You have a good mind. You could do something useful with it. Rani Gupta's daughter is a solicitor."

_Good for her, _thought Blaine, though she knew better than to say it out loud.

"Florian and I won a battle today!" said Lachlan.

"Did you?" said Mr Haidari jovially. "That's my boy."

"It was against a pidgey, too. It had a type advantage, but we won anyway."

"Actually, I won that battle," said Blaine. "Why can't I have a pokemon?"

"Now, Blaine, we've already discussed this," said her mother.

"No, we haven't. You _told _me what to do. A _discussion_ implies that both parties are contributing to a conversation. We never _discuss _anything."

"Do not speak to me that way," Mrs Haidari said coldly. "You are becoming insolent, young lady. I will not have bad manners at the dinner table. You cannot have a pokemon because you are far too old to be tramping around getting your knees dirty and playing with mangy beasts. It is a rough, dirty, violent game for little boys and it is not appropriate for you, do you understand me?"

Furious, Blaine speared a chunk of miltank steak with her fork and sawed at it with her knife.

"I really don't know what's gotten into you," Mrs Haidari went on quietly, as if speaking to herself. "You used to be such a nice young lady. Now your manners are atrocious. I suspect it's the influence of your school friends. I'm sure Mei Lin Lau's daughter never behaves this way."

"Stop comparing me to other people," snapped Blaine. "I'm not Mei Lin Lau's daughter, and I never will be. Get used to it."

"More's the pity. _She_ speaks to her mother with a bit of respect."

"Maybe her mother deserves it. Maybe _she's _not a rotten parent who doesn't know how to raise her kids."

There was an awkward pause. Mrs Haidari glared at her daughter. "I don't know who is teaching you to say these ugly, uncivilised things. You may think you know everything, but so long as you live under my roof, you will obey my rules and show me some respect. Go to your room and stay there until I call you."

Blaine let her cutlery fall to her plate with a clatter. She pushed her chair back and marched away. As she left, she said, "Maybe I won't be under your roof much longer."

* * *

><p>Blaine lay on her bed, miserable, staring out the window at the trees waving in the distance. She hated being stuck in here. She wanted to escape so badly. She wished she could just fly away, leave her family behind and have a life of her own.<p>

There was a soft knock at her door.

"Go away," she said angrily.

The door was gently pushed open and Lachlan entered, followed by Florian. The pair of them approached Blaine. She turned away.

"Go away!" she shouted. "I don't want to see you. Can't you just leave me alone?" The last thing she wanted right now was to talk to stupid Lachlan and his stupid weepinbell.

"Sis…" Lachlan said. "Sorry about what happened."

Blaine was silent.

"Do you want to play with me and Florian? You can share him with me if you want to."

She spun around and smacked him hard on the cheek. He staggered back and stared at her in surprise, his mouth open and tears gathering in his eyes. Florian bounced protectively in front of him.

"Go away!" she hissed. "I never want to see you ever again."

"I hate you!" Lachlan shouted, the tears escaping his eyes and spilling watery tracks down his cheeks. "I'm glad you don't have a pokemon because you're mean! What pokemon would want to be with you? You're so mean, that's why you don't have any friends!" He gathered Florian in his arms, turned and ran from the room.

And maybe Arceus was listening, because Blaine got her wish: that was the last time she saw her brother. That very same day, they took him.


	5. A New Life

Near the edge of the forest, Blaine stopped to make her preparations. The egg she held in her arms had grown increasingly active as she'd travelled, and now it seemed it was starting to hatch. She found a comfortable spot on the ground, blanketed by fallen leaves, on which to sit and cradle the egg in her lap. She watched with a feeling of excitement as it quivered in her hands. In a way, she was like the pokemon inside this egg, ready to break her shell and burst out into a new world she had never known before.

A series of thumps came from within, followed by a distinct tapping noise. A tiny chip appeared in the egg's surface, which lengthened into a crack, which in turn expanded and rippled outwards, suddenly shattering the creamy yellow shell. A clear liquid gushed from the ruined husk, and the pokemon's head emerged into the gloomy forest light, its eyes blinking slowly before fixing on Blaine's face.

"Pi, pi?" it squeaked in a small voice.

It took Blaine a few moments to recognise the pokemon as a pichu. She held her port up and launched the pokedex program.

"_Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon. It charges its cheek pouches by accumulating electrons from the surrounding atmosphere, which are discharged in the form of electric currents. However, it lacks control of its power and may accidentally shock itself when upset or distracted."_

Her first reaction was one of disappointment. Pichu were baby pokemon, and even when evolved they didn't have the kind of raw power she'd been hoping for. It would take a lot of time and effort to turn this pokemon into a halfway decent battler.

On the other hand, a journey of a thousand miles had to begin with a single step. Now she had taken that first step, and this pokemon had taken it with her.

She cleaned away the shell fragments and wiped the pichu's body down with hot water before towelling it dry.

"Chu, chu," it said happily, and nestled against her chest, clinging to her neck with its little arms.

Despite her initial misgivings, she was starting to think that maybe this wasn't so bad. In fact, it could even be a good thing. As she'd said to Lachlan a week ago, the outcome of a battle depended on more than the strength of the pokemon involved; it depended on the skill of the trainer. Any fool could win a battle with a gyarados or a serperior. To win a battle with a pokemon like pichu, which had less raw power, a trainer would have to show skill, creativity and intelligence. And Blaine knew she could be that kind of trainer.

At that moment she resolved that she would turn the little pokemon into a mighty warrior to be feared and respected. It might take years, it might mean losing hundreds of battles, but she would do it. If she couldn't be a pokemon trainer with a pichu, if she couldn't train whatever pokemon she turned her mind to and bring out its full potential, then she was no kind of pokemon trainer at all.

The little pichu nuzzled its new trainer, unaware that the course of its future was being charted, unaware that the heavy burdens of great hopes, dreams and expectations were being laid on its tiny shoulders. All it knew was that it had come out of the warm, dark comfort of the egg into a cold and alien world, and it was now holding tight to the only source of comfort and warmth it had found in its harsh new surroundings.

Blaine flicked through the name suggestions on her port. She took the business of naming her first pokemon seriously. Not for her the silly, cutesy, empty names that some people might choose. A name given to a pokemon represented the future that its trainer envisioned for it, and giving her pokemon a meaningless name would give it a meaningless life. She wanted a name that suggested power, might and victory in battle, and at last she found it.

According to the port, it was a name that had belonged to a war lord in a distant time and place, and it meant, 'lightning.' It was perfect for her little pichu.

"Barak," Blaine said softly, and the little pokemon looked up at her with its wide dark eyes. "Barak," she repeated, and the pokemon replied: "Chu?" As if it knew something of great importance was taking place. "Barak," said Blaine, a final time, and the deed was done. The ritual was complete according to ancient law and custom; the trainer had named the pokemon. The pichu belonged to her now, and their two destinies were entwined for ever and ever, until death did them part.


	6. The Root of All Evil

"But that is splendid," Professor Coconut said, "just splendid. Young Neel has just started a walking tour of his own."

"Hang on," said Russell. "I did say I was considering a gym tour – well, I've been considering it for about a year – but I don't think I'll actually go through with it."

"Why ever not? Many young people do, even just for one year. It's a remarkable opportunity to get out there and meet new people, see the world, broaden your horizons."

"Yes, I know that. And it would be good. But I have responsibilities here. Someone has to look after my mom."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is she ill?"

"A remarkable woman, Mrs Toyoda," Dr Ang said sadly. "Brilliant scientific mind. Mr Toyoda, too. Such a shame."

"Oh, are your parents _scientists_?" asked Professor Coconut excitedly, his eyes shining with new respect as he looked at Russell. "Why didn't you say?"

"Didn't want to embarrass himself," Neel suggested.

"They… _were_ scientists," said Russell awkwardly. He normally didn't like talking about his parents, but Dr Ang was an old family friend who already knew the story, and Professor Coconut and his nephew were likeable enough to get Russell talking. "They worked for the same company."

"Oh, they were _corporate _scientists," said Professor Coconut, with a touch of disapproval. "What sort of work did they do?"

"They were both involved in genetics and molecular biology…"

"Very promising line of research. Working on developing cures for diseases and so on?"

"Well, I guess so. They didn't really tell me all the details. Part of it was company policy. And part of it was… I think they were trying to protect me."

"Protect you?"Professor Coconut raised his elegant eyebrows in surprise. "Protect you from what?"

"The company they worked for… was BioGen Corporation."

The temperature in the lab seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Well," said Professor Coconut, "the BioGen Corporation is one of our largest scientific research and development companies… it does employ thousands of people…"

"It's alright, you don't have to be polite," Russell said. "I know there's something shady going on at the company. My parents knew it too, it was one of the things they fought about."

"I hope you won't take this as a criticism of your parents, but in recent times there have been disturbing allegations about BioGen Corp… unethical experimentation on pokemon… flouting the Shino Convention on genetic programming… links to criminal organisations… the Rockets…"

"I know," Russell said. "And when my mom found out, she wanted out of the company for good. But my dad disagreed. My parents had been working at BioGen for ten years. They made all kinds of breakthroughs. My dad would tell me about it; he said he couldn't reveal too much, because the company had a strict confidentiality policy about new research, but he said they had made huge advances in genome sequencing. All their scientific discoveries belonged to the company, and if they left they would have to throw away ten years of their life's work and start again from scratch. My dad didn't want to do that."

"Quite understandable," murmured Professor Coconut.

"My dad told me not to believe the allegations against BioGen in the media. He said it was all due to a smear campaign launched by rival companies. I'm not sure if he actually believed that, but it did make sense. If an investigation found BioGen to have criminal links, the company's assets would be seized by the government, and their groundbreaking research could be taken over by other companies."

"It does make a lot of sense, I'm afraid." Dr Ang shook his head. "At that level of business, we're taking about hundreds of billions of dollars in profit each year. That kind of money makes people do incredible things. Even scientists."

Russell said, "So my parents kept fighting, and one day my dad left. I don't know where he went or what he's doing now. I do know that my mom quit her job with BioGen right after that. She did a few other jobs for a while, but her heart wasn't in it. Without my dad, she just kind of lost it. She never got over him leaving. She was depressed, so she stopped working for a while. Then she stopped going out of the house. Then she started to forget things. And now… it's like her mind is only half there. Like my dad took half of her spirit with him when he left. And I have to look after her." Russell had to stop there, because he felt that tears would soon be pricking his eyes.

"I'm very sorry," Professor Coconut said quietly.

Dr Ang said, "Russell, you've been looking after your mom for a year now. You deserve a break. I can arrange for someone to look after her for you."

Russell paused. He was tempted, but what if his mom objected to being left alone? First his dad had left her, then his sister had left her, and if Russell left her now she would be all alone. She needed a member of the family there to look after her.

"She needs me there," he said eventually.

"You have needs of your own," said Dr Ang. "Your mother wants you to live your own life. You can call her every day."

"Well… I'll think about it," said Russell. "But who would pay for everything? I can't work while I'm travelling."

Dr Ang went over to his desk and pulled out a few forms. "If you travel with Neel, I can put you down for one of these research grants. There are also pokemon trainer scholarships for those who are willing to do the gym circuits. Neither of those should be a problem for you, as I know you'd make a great trainer. Money is no obstacle."

"Do it!" said Neel. "I mean, I understand if you want to stay here and look after your mom. But it would be really awesome if you could travel with me."

"I would feel much easier in my own mind if I knew Neel were travelling with a fine young man like you," Professor Coconut added. "It's always best to travel with friends. I would accompany Neel myself, but I have work of my own to do, and besides he doesn't want an old man like me spoiling his fun. I told him to take a friend of his own, but he seems to have trouble making friends his own age."

"Uncle!" Neel protested.

"Well, it's true. You understand pokemon because they come with statistics and data entries. People are a bit more complicated."

"I'll think about it," said Russell. "It's a big decision."

"Thank you," Professor Coconut said. "And for what it's worth, I think your mother did the right thing by disassociating herself from BioGen. There's some bad business going on there. There has been talk of launching a public inquiry into the company for the past six years, but no politician has had the will or the means to implement it. Last year there were four senators calling for an inquiry. Two of them, Senators Dao and Rajan, eventually retracted their support. There was talk of bribery and blackmail, nothing proven, of course. That left two senators: St Clair and Haidari. Senator St Clair was found dead of a drug overdose in his office six months ago. It emerged that he had a lifelong drug addiction."

Russell felt the chilly fingers of fear touch his spine. "You don't think BioGen… killed him?"

"It is difficult to say. A pattern emerges, of anyone who opposes BioGen Corporation either withdrawing their opposition or suffering great misfortune. There is no hard evidence, however."

"What happened to Senator Haidari? The name sounds familiar." Russell had definitely heard the name Haidari before and he was trying to place it.

"Don't you read the news?" Professor Coconut asked. "One week ago, Senator Haidari's son Lachlan disappeared. He vanished near a river in which he often swam with his pokemon, a weepinbell, which also went missing. Authorities say that he may have drowned: that is the official position, anyway. I for one have never heard of a weepinbell drowning. Not without… assistance. Their bodies have yet to be found."

Dr Ang said, "The reason Haidari's name is familiar to you is that he used to live right here in Nova Town. Eventually he relocated to Aquila, when he was elected Senator, but he and his family lived here for many years. His daughter was a bright girl, very interested in pokemon. She was always visiting me in this very lab."

"That's right," said Russell, "I remember now. What was her name again? Blanche? Bianca?"

"Blaine," said Dr Ang.


	7. In Scarlet Square

It was a nice, sunny afternoon with a gentle breeze in the air. Blaine stood at the bus stop with Barak riding on her right shoulder. At first he had kept trying to ride on her head, but that made her look extremely undignified, so she had kept pushing him off until he finally got the message and settled for perching on her shoulder instead.

He was a very curious pokemon, staring wide-eyed in all directions, sniffing at everything with his little nose twitching. Every once in a while he would stand up and raise his head to the sky, his pink cheeks quivering, and Blaine would feel a little tingle in her shoulder like pins and needles, which was probably the electricity being stored in his cheek pouches. Once she saw the flash of bright sparks around his cheeks, which had made him yelp and jump on top of her head again, his little paws scrabbling and scratching at her hair and face.

A group of girls wandered by and Barak stood up on her shoulder to stare at them.

"Aww, how cute!" one of them said, and they all dissolved into giggles. Blaine ignored them and hoped they would go away. Fortunately, at that moment, the bus appeared in the distance, so she moved to the roadside and raised her hand to signal the driver. The bus slowed and came to a stop before her, its doors sliding smoothly open, and she climbed the steps into the cool, air-conditioned interior.

The bus driver gave her a bored look. "Pokemon have to be kept in their pokeballs at all times, unless you want to buy an extra ticket."

Blaine considered this. She hadn't tried putting Barak in a pokeball yet; maybe this would be a good time to start. She rummaged around in her backpack, withdrew a pokeball and opened it up. "Barak, get inside."

The pichu approached the pokeball and sniffed at it tentatively before turning away and scurrying back to its place on her shoulder.

"Get inside," she repeated, moving the ball closer to him. This time he lashed out with surprising violence, knocking the ball out of her hand with his stubby tail, sending it tumbling to the floor.

"Are you going to buy a fare or what?" said the bus driver irritably. "There are people waiting here. We're on a timetable."

Blaine retrieved the pokeball from the floor, replacing it in her bag. "There's no need to be rude," she informed the driver. "I'll take two tickets." She tapped her port against the ticket machine, which automatically deducted the fare from her bank account and printed out a pair of tickets. Blaine was nervous about paying for things digitally, because it would make it easier for her family to track her. Technically she was over the age of autonomy, so her parents shouldn't be allowed to trace her movements if she didn't want to be tracked, but they were powerful people with connections, and she wouldn't put it past them to hire a private investigator or something. She would have to take precautions as soon as possible.

"It's your job to control your pokemon," the bus driver said sharply, as if he were speaking to an idiot who had done something to offend him. "If it bothers the other passengers or causes any damage, you'll have to pay for it."

Blaine gave him a look, which she hoped would communicate that she was not impressed by his manners, as well as that she was far too important to waste time on fools like him.

"What's the matter with your eyes? Need glasses?" he asked. Obviously Blaine's meaningful stares could use some work.

The bus was about half full. Only one other person was accompanied by a pokemon, an older grey-haired woman with a lillupup curled under her seat. Blaine chose a seat almost halfway down from the front of the bus, next to tall window that let in a flood of sunlight. As she sat down, the bus began to move, and Barak scurried around the back of her neck to her left shoulder, pressed his little paws and his face against the glass and stared out at the moving scenery.

Blaine followed suit. She had lived in this little town for most of her life and many of the streets were well known to her, though she hadn't been back in over a year. It was peaceful to watch the lanes and buildings drift by, the hot sunlight making her pleasantly warm and sleepy as she became lost in her own thoughts.

Suddenly, she realised that while she had been gazing out the window, someone had taken a place beside her on the seat. She turned her head and saw that it was some guy who looked a little older than herself. He had spiky purple hair and was wearing black-and-metal clothes that were fashionably ripped and torn. Something about him made her uncomfortable. He smiled at her when he saw her looking.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"All right," Blaine said unenthusiastically before returning her gaze to the window, not wanting to encourage him. Barak, however, was less cautious than her, and he left his post by the window to scurry back to her right shoulder and sniff at the newcomer. Blaine resisted the urge to snatch him back; the guy next to her was giving off seriously creepy vibes and she was starting to feel quite uneasy. Besides, he smelt strange.

"Cute pokemon," the guy said. He shifted along the seat, moving a little closer to Blaine. His leg was touching hers now.

"Excuse me," she said sharply, turning back to him, "but could you move away? You're invading my personal space."

His attitude changed completely. "What the hell is your problem, you stupid cow?" he burst out. "I was just trying to be friendly!"

Barak scampered into Blaine's lap and curled up into a ball, trembling.

"I didn't get on the bus to make friends," Blaine snapped, icy fury in every word. "I'm here to travel from A to B. Move to another seat or I'll tell the bus driver that you're harassing the passengers."

"Hey, get away from that young lady." The grey-haired woman raised her walking stick in her left hand and waved it in Blaine's direction. "Monty, Growl."

Her lillipup promptly uncurled itself and sprang to its feet, its brown fur bristling on its haunches. It drew its lips back, making a deep growling noise that seemed to make the whole bus tremble.

The guy left Blaine's seat and walked away, muttering under his breath. At the next stop he left the bus.

Blaine just sat there, staring out the window, a tumult of feelings churning inside her. She felt angry, humiliated and disturbed. She felt grateful to the old woman and her pokemon, but also embarrassed that she'd needed assistance. She hated having to depend on others for anything.

_When I'm a full- fledged trainer, no one will dare to try any crap with me, _she thought. _If anyone comes near me, I'll send them to the cemetery._

The bus rumbled on and she leaned against the hot glass window, the soft fur and warmth of Barak's body comforting in her arms. The deep roar of the engine lulled her back into a drowsy state, and somehow she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>By the time she stepped off the bus at Scarlet Town, she was feeling much better. The warm breeze gently blew past her face, lifting her spirits, and she even let Barak ride atop her head.<p>

"Just make sure you don't pee or anything," she said sternly. "I only brought a few sets of clothing."

"Chu, chu," he said happily, tramping around on her head and trying to weave her brown hair into a comfortable nest.

Scarlet Town's town square was bustling in the late afternoon sunlight. Throngs of people and pokemon moved back and forth, chattering, laughing, eating and carrying bags of shopping. In addition, the square contained entertainers, jugglers, fire-breathers, living statues, street artists, hawkers, beggars and a group of strange people in red robes and winged hats, carrying torches, candles, and lamps, who seemed to be making a lot of noise and handing things out to the crowd. On the southern side of the square, above all the commotion, the sculpture of a huge scarlet bird of fire reared majestically into the sky.

Blaine recognised the sculpture as Moltres. Although she wasn't religious, being inclined to a sceptical outlook instead, her parents had taken her to the temple a few times as a child, and she had read widely of all the religious books in the library, so she probably knew more about religious symbolism than the average believer. For example, she knew why the statue of Moltres was raised on the southern side of the square: because in Kantian mythology, South was the direction of the summer, and Moltres was the guardian of the Summer, sent by Arceus to watch over fire, heat and light, and make the weather hot so that people's crops would grow.

She also knew how Scarlet Town got its name: a long time ago, a saint called Shizumi had visited the town when it was in the grip of an endless winter. It was said that in response to Shizumi's prayers, Moltres had appeared and brought fire to the town, blessing it so that forevermore it would enjoy long summers with bountiful crops, and mild, short winters. And when Blaine turned her head, she saw that a statue of the saint Shizumi was standing on the north side of the square, her arms outstretched, calling the holy bird of fire to her. It certainly was a beautiful work of art, based on a moving story, even if it was nothing more than folk tale and superstition.

She walked past the cafes and stalls on the outskirts of the square, ignoring the delicious smells that wafted by, although they made her stomach rumble.

"Pi!" said Barak, tugging on a few strands of her hair.

"Not yet," she told him. "I just fed you. You can wait a little longer."

"Chu," he said sulkily, and nibbled at the tips of her hair to let her know that he wasn't happy.

"I don't care if you eat my hair, I needed a haircut anyway. You'll only make yourself sick."

She stopped to look at some of the stalls. Her parents would put out a description of her, and she had already decided to hide her appearance by covering her hair with a scarf. Some of the women and even men in the stricter religious orders would cover their heads with a length of cloth. It was meant to symbolise restraint, modesty and renunciation of worldly things, or something along those lines. What mattered to Blaine was that it would make her harder to recognise.

She spotted a few stalls selling clothes and fabrics, and approached them. A kindly middle-aged woman saw her and waved large, ringed hands over a wall of hanging silks.

"Four for ten dollars!" she announced. "Beautiful silks for a beautiful young lady!"

"I was thinking of wearing a shawl or a veil," Blaine said." I'd like to wear it over my hair. Do you have any of those?"

"Certainly, step this way, young miss," the woman said. "See our beautiful veils and scarves in silk, satin, velvet, damask, or for the more economical customer, cotton, polyester and rayon." She produced a beautiful array of cloth from under the counter and began stripping them away. "This! Peacock print! So lovely, it brings out the colour of your eyes! Or try this beautifly pattern, such a delicate pallet of pastel hues! Or our milotic scarf, always a favourite with the young ladies, salmon pink, sky blue, milky cream, such elegance and beauty, the queen of scarves!" As she enumerated the properties of each design, she draped the cloth around Blaine's head.

"Pi! Pipi!" Muffled squeaks of alarm and frantic scrabbling came from atop Blaine's head, where Barak was now buried under a growing pile of silks and satins. Blaine reached up to peel the scarves away, revealing a flustered and irritable pichu. He yanked on her hair hard.

"These designs are beautiful," Blaine said, "but they're too bright and conspicuous. I want something plain, not too fancy, nothing that will attract attention."

The woman paused."Oh," she said, obviously disappointed. "Something plain? And modest? A religious type, are you? Here to see the prophetess?"

"Prophetess? What prophetess?"

The woman snatched the scarves back from Blaine and began packing the expensive, colourful designs back into their box. "What prophetess, she asks. Ain't you heard? It's been all over the news. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it certainly brings in a lot of tourists to our town, and that means more business. But they're an odd lot, they are." She brought out another box. "Now, here we are. This is what you're after." She jerked her head back in the direction of the centre of the square. "Didn't you see them, parading around in their red robes? Handing out pamphlets saying, repent, Moltres is coming." She laughed. "I don't know if Moltres ever came to this here town, but if he did, he ain't been back here for a thousand years. Maybe he's coming back now, but I ain't holding my breath!"

She scattered an assortment of plain scarves on the table in front of Blaine. "There you are, dear, pick one of those. No, not the white one, dear, your skin is so pale."

In the end, Blaine settled for a plain, sky blue scarf, which would go nicely with her hair, according to the merchant woman. Blaine paid four dollars for it and turned to go.

"You travelling on your own, love?" the woman asked.

Blaine turned back. "I'm not on my own. I have my pichu."

"You be careful, love. There are some rough types around these days. It's not safe for a young girl travelling on her own."

Blaine thought back to the man on the bus, and she shivered a little on the inside. But her voice was steady as she said, "I'm not a young girl. I'm a pokemon trainer."


	8. Aunty Shikyo

Lachlan and Florian were running down a grassy hill, emerald blades spreading in every direction, swaying in the wind with a rustling whisper. Lachlan was laughing, leaping from tussock to tussock, jumping in the air as high as his legs could carry him, inhaling the sweet cold smell of the wind. Behind him, Florian bounced as fast as he could, crying, "Bell! Bell!" as he tried to keep up.

"Come on, slowpoke!" Lachlan shouted with a laugh. "I'll beat you to the bottom." He ran on, his feet pounding against the ground with satisfying thumping noises, the green slope zooming past underneath him until it became nothing more than a green blur, his eyes fixed on the destination, every muscle in his body straining to propel him faster and faster.

At last he reached the end of the slope and he cheered, raising his arms in the air, his legs slowing down and releasing their built-up momentum, until he threw himself down on the grass and lay there, panting for breath.

After half a minute or so, he picked himself up again and turned around with a big grin on his face. "I beat you, I beat you!" he announced happily to Florian – but Florian wasn't there.

"Florian?" he called, taking a step forward, then another. He ran up the hill a little way. "Florian! Where are you?" The grassy slope was empty. Puzzled, he turned around again and saw, with a jolt of surprise, three shadowy figures standing behind him.

It was his parents and Blaine, but something was wrong. They were all wearing black robes and their eyes were red. Blaine was holding a bundle in her arms.

"Mom? Dad? " He took a step towards them. "Blaine? What're you guys doing? What's going on?"

"Lachlan," said his mother, "you've been a bad boy. A very bad boy."

"What?" said Lachlan. "But… I didn't do anything."

His father said, "Bad boys like you must be punished. Blaine?"

Blaine stepped forward, moving closer to Lachlan. She hissed, "Why should you get to have a pokemon, when I haven't got one?" She opened the bundle and let it drop to the ground.

It was Florian. He was dead. Someone had slashed off his leaves and torn open his rubbery yellow belly. Green, sticky sap was oozing everywhere and his eyes were staring at nothing.

Lachlan screamed.

"This is your fault," Blaine said.

Lachlan opened his eyes, sick to his stomach. He struggled up, and a heavy blanket fell from him. He was sitting in a large bed in a strange room.

So it was only a dream. A deep feeling of relief washed over him. Florian wasn't dead, he was still alive. It had just been a stupid dream.

Gradually, the feeling of relief became replaced by one of fear and uncertainty. He was in a strange room, in a house he had never seen before. He was all alone. He didn't know where Florian or his family were. And he felt… bad. There was something bad here, something in the air like a bad smell, except that it wasn't something that could be smelt, touched, seen or heard. It was a different sense that was making him uneasy. Something was watching him.

Slowly, he eased out of the bed and crept along the warm wooden floorboards. He reached the door and turned the doorknob ever so gently. For a long while he stood there, afraid to open the door, sure that something would jump out from behind it and get him. Eventually, he gathered up his courage and pulled it open a crack.

Nothing happened, so he opened the door a little wider, then wider still. Behind the door was a short dark corridor. He slowly walked through it and found two other doors leading off it, and a flight of stairs. Cautiously, he held onto the banister and descended the stairs, step by step until he reached the bottom. At the bottom he found a wide living room with sofas, cushions, a big carved wooden box, a reading table and a merrily burning fireplace. To the side of the room was a wide archway leading into a dining room. Inside the dining room was a wooden table covered with a white lacy cloth, and sitting at the table was a woman in a bright red silk kimono.

"Hello, Lachlan," she said. "I've been waiting for you."

Lachlan paused at the archway, hesitant to go inside. The woman's voice was cool, low and soothing. Actually it was barely more than a whisper, so he couldn't tell if it was a man or woman's voice, but he assumed it was a woman's, because the kimono was in a feminine style. He couldn't see her face, either, because it was covered by a bone-white mask with two black holes for eyes, and red lines trailing down like tears, red as blood, red as her kimono.

The woman scared him. Although her voice was kind, there was something about her that made the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The creepy feeling that had been with him since he'd awoken in the bed only grew stronger in the woman's presence. This whole house felt dark and evil, and somehow he knew that the dark feeling was connected to the woman in the red kimono, like she was a spider who had spun a web of darkness into this whole house, and he was a fly who had blundered into her trap, and now she was sitting at the centre waiting to pull him in and devour him.

"Don't be afraid, my dear Lachlan," said the woman. "My name is Aunty Shikyo. Come, you must be hungry." She raised her right hand, and a tray of food suddenly appeared on the end of the table opposite to her and closest to Lachlan. The cover floated off the tray and set itself down on the table, revealing hot, steaming dishes of bread, soup, meat, fish and eggs.

"How did you do that?" Lachlan asked, his curiosity momentarily overriding his fear.

The woman modestly held her right sleeve up to cover her masked mouth as she gave a little laugh. "Aunty Shikyo has many secrets. And in Aunty's house, everything follows her rules. Now, sit and eat your meal before it gets cold."

The food looked so good, and Lachlan's stomach was pinched from hunger, but the sense of danger kept him lingering at the archway.

"I said, _sit_," Aunty insisted.

Suddenly, Lachlan's legs began moving of their own accord, carrying him straight to the dining table. A cry escaped his mouth and he tried to stop himself, but his body ignored his wishes and kept on moving until he reached the table and sat down in a wooden chair.

"Good," said the woman. "Good boys always do as they're told. It's rude to keep Aunty waiting, and we wouldn't want to be rude, would we? I know you're a good boy, Lachlan. Now eat."

Lachlan was really scared now, but he didn't want Aunty to mess with his body again, so he picked up a fork and spoon and began to shovel food into his mouth. There was roasted miltank steak, doduo drumsticks and eggs, braised magikarp, oddish-leaf soup and milk and apple juice to wash it all down. While he ate, the woman sat absolutely still at other end of the table, her white mask impassive. He ate continuously for ten minutes, and it felt good to fill the aching emptiness in his stomach. When he was finished, the tray floated up a few feet into the air and vanished.

"Good," said the woman. "You feel better now, don't you, Lachlan?"

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"Aunty knows many things."

"Where am I? What am I doing here? Where's my family?"

"So many questions. My dear Lachlan, there are some bad people out there who want to hurt you. That's why Aunty brought you to her house, to keep you safe and look after you. As for your family, I'm afraid they don't want you any more."

"What? That's not true."

"Isn't it? Mummy and Daddy don't have any time to spend with Lachlan, do they? And your sister Blaine hates you. She doesn't want an annoying little brat tagging after her, does she? She's always telling you how stupid you are, and she even hit you. Why, she hates you."

"I… no… how do you know about my family?"

The woman raised her sleeve to her mouth to laugh again. "Aunty Shikyo knows many things. She can see into your heart and into your dreams."

Dreams. That reminded him. "Where's my weepinbell, Florian?"

"Oh... Poor Florian." The woman shook her head. "He's not feeling very good at the moment. He's sick."

"What?" Lachlan demanded, half rising from his seat. "What's wrong with him? Where is he?"

"He's nearby, resting. You can see him later, if you're a good boy."

So Florian was somewhere close. That was good. Lachlan would find him, grab him and get out of this creepy house and away from Aunty Shikyo.

"You can see Florian, _if _you're a good boy," said the woman. "_If _you're a good boy, and do whatever Aunty asks you to, and stay inside this house so that Aunty can protect you from the bad people out there who want to hurt you. But if you're a _bad _boy, if you don't listen to Aunty, or try to run away, then you won't be able to see Florian after all. Why, he might even be so sad that he won't ever get better. He might just get sicker and sicker and die. And maybe the same will happen to you. And won't that be sad? So be a good boy, because Aunty will know if you're not. Aunty can see into your heart and dreams. She always knows."

On the walls, the shadows flickered and danced, curiously alive.


	9. Best Foot Forward

**ATTENTION: POKEMON TRAINERS**

_Timber Forest is a protected zone._

_It is illegal to feed, disturb or harass a wild pokemon unless you intend to capture it._

_If you are accompanied by Fire-type pokemon, you will be held responsible for any resulting fire damage done to the forest._

_The following pokemon species MAY NOT be captured: Jigglypuff (_Spiramen cantoris_), Pikachu (_Fulgurimus celeritas_), Clefairy (_Lunaripraesul genius_), Vulpix (_Vulpes ardoris_)._

_The following pokemon species are restricted (ONE [1] pokemon may be captured per trainer): Silcoon (_Vermiculus bombycinus_), Beautifly (_Vermiculus chromalatus_), Magikarp (_Merula inutilitatis_), Goldeen (_Aurohippuri aquaeregina_)_

_Offenders may be fined up to $10, 000 and/or be imprisoned for up two years._

_The above regulations are in accordance with the Wild Pokemon Protection Act (912) and the Wild Pokemon Population Conservation Act (1053)._

It was early evening and Russell and Neel were walking through the winding, shady paths of Timber Forest. Surya was resting in his pokeball, partly because walking for long distances tired him out, and partly because Russell didn't think it was a good idea to have a flame pokemon running around in the forest. It would be far too easy for Surya's tail to accidentally start a fire, and Russell couldn't afford the fines, not to mention the untold devastation to local ecosystems.

Things had moved surprisingly quickly after the events that afternoon. Russell had spoken to his mother about going on a gym tour, and she had taken it much better than he'd expected. In fact, she'd seemed much more excited about it than he was.

"Oh! My little boy is finally going to become a Pokemon Master!" she'd exclaimed, clasping her hands, her eyes shining with emotion.

"I thought you wanted me to become a doctor," Russell had said.

"Did I?" Mrs Toyoda had asked, looking bemused. It didn't take long for her to recover her enthusiasm, though, and she packed Russell a bag full of clothes, food and other essential items. He didn't really need her to pack for him, but she'd been so cheerful that he'd let her get on with it.

His mother's sister, Aunt Megumi, was coming in from Sefton to look after things while he was away. He'd made a long list of everything she needed to know and stuck it to the front of the fridge. He kept going back to it and adding things, like when to take out the garbage, where to find the first aid kit, and how to reset the fuse in case of a blackout.

Finally their goodbyes had been said, and he had promised to call his mother every day. Then he and Neel had set out for the Timber Forest, each of them carrying a medium-sized backpack furnished with the bare necessities. They were planning to stick to the populated areas and travel through cities and towns, so they could order most of the food and other items they needed along the way.

Russell knew from his history lessons that Timber Forest had once been a wild place inhabited by mysterious tribes. A few hundred years ago, the land had been taken over by the Yin Gu empire. During the Industrial Revolution, the forest had been heavily logged, and most of the pokemon had fled due to their habitats being destroyed. A few decades ago, though, laws were passed making the land a protected zone, and now the pokemon had started coming back. It was also a popular place for families to walk, picnic, or play sports.

Beside the entrance to the forest, someone had built a small shrine to Celebi, the forest guardian. Inside, there was a little wooden sculpture of the Immortal pokemon, surrounded by garlands of flowers, sticks of incense and papers bearing prayers and mantras left by worshippers. There was also a small plaque inscribed with a verse:

_Wherever the soil is pure and untarnished,_

_Wherever the trees flourish and fear not the axe,_

_Wherever the flowers blossom with joy,_

_Wherever the wind in the leaves singeth my praise,_

_There is my abode, now and forever._

_Celebi 29:13-17_

Russell stopped before the shrine to light an incense stick.

"Hey, Russell! What're you waiting for?" Neel called from where he stood, further down the track. "Come on!" He saw what Russell was doing. "Why are you wasting time on that? It's primitive and baseless superstition. Hurry up, I want to get to the edge of the forest before nightfall."

Russell left the shrine, jogging to catch up with Neel, and they continued on down the path together.

"So… do you believe in Celebi?" Neel asked.

Russell shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He wasn't really sure what he believed in. "There must be something out there, I don't know if it's Celebi or what. But… it's nice to think that there's something out there looking out for us."

"Hmm," Neel said. They walked on for a while in silence.

"No, I don't believe in Celebi," Russell said suddenly, in a low voice. "Or any of the other Legendaries. When my mom started getting sick, I prayed and prayed to Jirachi. They said that Jirachi grants the wishes of the faithful, if you pray hard enough and have good intentions. I went all the way to the temple and wrote my wish on a prayer tag and got it blessed by a priestess. But Jirachi never made my mom better, and he never made my dad come back. If your wish doesn't come true, the priests say it's because your heart wasn't pure, or maybe Arceus has a different plan for you, or maybe he's making you suffer so you grow strong, just like Mew (may he rest in peace) suffered when he came to Earth. But it's just excuses. It's all just made up."

There was silence again, except for the calls of bird pokemon in the trees and the chittering of insect pokemon in the grass.

"How many pokemon do you have?" asked Neel.

"Just the one. A charmander called Surya. He's friendly, I should introduce you to him, but I don't want to let him out here where there's so much flammable material around."

"I just have one pokemon as well. A squirtle called Kurma. I'm keeping him in his pokeball for now, too. He doesn't like walking for long distances, but he loves swimming."

"A Fire type and a Water type," said Russell. "A good combination. The two of us should be able to take on anything. We can cover each other's weaknesses, at least."

"That's true. Although I won't be doing as much battling as you. I'm travelling as a researcher, not a gym challenger. That means the pokemon I capture will be primarily for research, not for battle. Say, have you decided whether to take on a Pokemon League scholarship?"

Russell reached into his pocket, pulled out a brochure Dr Ang had given him and flipped through it. "I don't know," he said. "It seems pretty intense. To stay in the program, you have to earn two D-class gym badges within three months. And you need to have registered 15 pokemon by the end of six months. I don't know if I'm ready to commit to all that time training, battling, catching and raising. I kind of wanted to take my pokemon journey slow and easy."

"Yeah, but there are lots of benefits of being on a scholarship. They pay for all your pokeballs, pokemon food, supplies, equipment and upgrades to your port device. They pay for your own food, accommodation and travel expenses. You can use pokemon centres for free and train in gyms without paying a registration fee. It makes everything a lot easier."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Maybe it was time for Russell to stop being afraid of commitment and to actually put his mind to something. After all, what was the worst that could happen? He would decide that he couldn't keep up with being a trainer, that he didn't like it? Well, then he would know that he wasn't cut out for the Pokemon League, and he could try something else. "Hey, Neel, have you always known you wanted to be a scientist? Why not a regular trainer?"

Neel put his arms behind his head, gazing up into the sky. "Well, pokemon battles are awesome, but I was always more interested in studying pokemon. Finding out where they come from, how they evolved, what kind of stuff goes on inside their bodies and their minds. I mean, there are so many questions out there waiting to be answered. Well, there are battling questions like, how quickly can a level 50 servine take down a level 60 dewott… but then there are deeper questions. Like, how come servine and other grass pokemon can photosynthesise? No other living thing can photosynthesise except for plants. But grass pokemon appear to be animals, because they move around and have nervous systems, but they also contain chlorophyll in their skin cells, so what are they exactly? And… how does the fire burn on a charmander's tail? Where does the fuel come from, and why would it have evolved that way? That's the kind of stuff I'm interested in."

Suddenly, Neel stumbled and cried out. "Ow!" he said. "Dammit! It bit me!" He'd stumbled over a red-shelled pokemon that glared balefully up at the two boys, its feelers waving and beaked mouth clicking.

"A venipede! Awesome!" Russell exclaimed. It was the first pokemon to come within close range since they'd entered the forest. "Surya, use Ember!" he cried, detaching his pokeball from his belt and opening it in one smooth motion. The charmander appeared in a blaze of light and shot a stream of burning embers at the red bug pokemon, hitting it full on, causing it writhe with fury and curl into a ball.

"Once again!" Russell ordered. The second Ember attack finished the venipede off, and it uncurled and lay limp on the ground. Russell tossed a pokeball at it and the venipede dissolved into a haze of scarlet light before being drawn inside the pokeball, which promptly snapped shut. The pokeball fell to the ground and lay there a few moments, before flashing and going still.

"All right!" said Russell. "My first bug pokemon!" The pokeball returned to his hand. "If I'm going to be in the gym circuit, I'd better start collecting."

There was a thump as Neel stumbled again and fell to one knee. "Uh, Russell? Could you reach into my backpack and get out the antidote? My foot's gone numb, and it's starting to spread up my leg…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

_colbyjackchz:_ Thanks for your always kind and encouraging reviews. It means a lot to me to know you're reading and enjoying the story.

_TwewyReaperGirl: _Thank you! I hope you stick around and will not be disappointed.


	10. Parents Don't Understand

"What do you mean, you can't bring her back?" Mr Haidari shouted.

It had been a grim week in the Haidari household. First Lachlan and his pokemon had disappeared, drowned in the river or worse. Then Blaine had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a note saying that she had gone to get her brother back from wherever he was. That wasn't all she'd said, either.

_Dear Mother and Father,_

_By the time you read this note I will be far away. I have gone to bring Lachlan back from wherever he has gone and whoever has taken him. Do not try to follow me and do not be concerned about my safety. I am more capable than you know. It is time I took my life into my own hands._

_Father: there is not much to say to you. There was never much closeness between us. I am appropriately grateful for the financial contributions you made to my upbringing. I intend to repay you when I am able. I wish you the best in your future endeavours._

_Mother: I am sorry that I could never be the daughter you wanted me to be. Perhaps this is for the best. I have my own destiny to follow and I cannot change my nature. I cannot become the dainty lady you want for a daughter any more than a purrloin can evolve into a skitty. Some things are fixed, either by biology, fate or historical circumstance. I am sorry for the pain and embarrassment I have caused you. I hope Lachlan will make you a proud parent – once I bring him back. _

_P.S. Really, do not try to follow me. I am smarter than you and you will not succeed. _

At present the note was on a table, where it had been placed for the benefit of Superintendent Combe. The note had first been wrested from the grip of Mrs Haidari, who had been clinging to it for the past several hours while simultaneously sobbing into a handkerchief. Sara sat beside her on the sofa, patting her on the arm and saying comforting things, like, "There, there, now, ma'am, she can't have gone far. She's a sensible girl, she is, our Blaine."

Mr Haidari, on the other hand, was pacing the room. If his wife had been taught to express her feelings by crying, he had been raised with the notion that the only emotion a man could show in public was anger. "Well?" he demanded. "First my son disappears, and you idiots can't do anything about it. Now my daughter takes off as well, and you're telling me you're not going to help with that, either? Now what exactly are we paying you for? It's a waste of taxpayers' dollars, that's what it is, and I'm going be ordering an inquiry into the police service when I'm next in parliament, you mark my words."

Superintendent Combe looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, Mr Haidari, while I sympathise, your daughter expresses herself quite clearly in the note. According to you, the note is genuine. She's chosen to leave of her own accord. There's no sign of coercion or any other cause for concern. She's over the age of autonomy. No crime has been committed."

"But she's our daughter! We don't even know where she is."

"Yes, Mr Haidari. But under the State your daughter has individual rights of her own. That includes the right to privacy. She's not a missing person."

"And what about Lachlan? Where is he? What's happening with your investigation? You people said that you would keep us informed, but there's been no communication whatsoever."

"I am not directly involved in that investigation. But from what I understand, there is still no sign of the missing persons, or their bodies."

A muffled sob issued from Mrs Haidari's direction.

Mr Haidari said, "Isn't it obvious what's going on here? It's Sakaki and his damned company trying to intimidate me. They took my son."

"Now, you want to be careful, Mr Haidari," replied Superintendent Combe, "making statements like that. A prominent man like you could be sued for slander. Many a paper that's printed allegations against BioGen has been driven into bankruptcy. You should be more cautious."

"I will not be intimidated. Others may cower before despicable men like Sakaki, but there are still those of us who believe in the principles of freedom and justice. I will not drop the inquiry."

"How can you say that?" Mrs Haidari exploded. "If they have Lachlan… what will they do to him!"

"This is your fault!" Mr Haidari shouted, rounding on her. "I told you Lachlan was spending too much time outdoors unsupervised. And as for that girl, Blaine, she's been acting strange for a while now and you said you would talk to her."

"Yes, blame me!" Mrs Haidari cried. "You're always at work and you're never at home, but everything wrong with the children is my fault! Lachlan would still be with us, if it weren't for your damn political ambitions." She dissolved into tears again. "But Blaine leaving is my fault, isn't it, Sara," she said softly. "My poor Blaine, I was too hard on her. I'd give anything to have her back now. I should have let her have a pokemon. Why didn't I compromise?"

"You don't blame yourself, Mrs Haidari," said Sara. "I don't know why Blaine left, but I do know there's nothing in this world that don't happen for a reason. And wherever Blaine is, you can be sure the eyes of the Immortals are watching her. And they'll bring her safely back home, and little Lachlan too, sure as night follows day."

"I hope you're right, Sara," whispered Mrs Haidari. "I hope you're right."

"I don't know about the Immortals," said Mr Haidari, "but I intend to bring Blaine home one way or another. I've already lost one child and I won't lose another."

* * *

><p>At the majestic desk in his office, the CEO of BioGen corporation, Mr Rikuto Sakaki, sat with his hands clasped before him. The room was richly furnished with splendid carpets, decorative urns, tastefully appointed curtains and expensive works of art from all over the nation. It was a room designed to intimidate those who entered and leave them with no doubt that its occupant was a man of great influence. By the side of an elegant open fireplace, an immaculately groomed persian lay elegantly sprawled on a fine embroidered rug.<p>

Sakaki stared at the tapestry hanging on the wall opposite him with an unreadable expression on his face, until a slight knock on the door announced the presence of his secretary.

"It's me, sir."

A slight frown creased Sakaki's brow ever so gently. "Come in," he said.

The door opened and admitted Ms Mariel Fernando, a dainty woman dressed in muted colours. She cautiously made her way to stand before Sakaki's desk. The persian languorously opened one eye and allowed it to settle on the newcomer.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sir," she said apologetically, bowing her head, "but your son has arrived, and you did ask to be informed at once. He's on his way here now."

"Good," said Sakaki. "Do I have any other engagements?"

"Well, sir, you are scheduled to meet with Dr Yue, the Director of Science, to discuss the experiments at BioGen. She's in the waiting room. Shall I tell her that you no longer wish to see her?"

"No. Tell her to wait. This won't take long. And show my son in immediately."

"As you wish, sir." Ms Fernando bowed her head again and left the room. In a few moments the door opened and admitted a young, handsome man dressed in an expensive dark suit. He was flanked by the hulking figures of a machoke and a gurdurr, one on either side.

"You wished to see me, Father?" he said carelessly, as he made his way to sit in the chair before Sakaki's desk, exuding the effortless arrogance of one who is young, rich and attractive. "I just flew over from Ganshen. The new pokeball factory there is doing brilliantly. They've developed a new kind of ball that outperforms the Devon Corporation's ultra balls by 23%. We're already negotiating contracts with the military and the Pokemon League worth up to six million dollars this year alone, and we've started an aggressive marketing campaign in the northern provinces where Devon has yet to establish a brand presence. We'll put those Devon bastards out of business this time. I can't wait to see the look on old man Tsuwabuki's face."

The older Sakaki was silent. While his son had been speaking, the persian by the fireplace had quietly slipped out of its doze, becoming fully alert. It crouched on its belly with both of its eyes trained squarely on the young man and his two pokemon, and although it was difficult to read emotions on that disdainful feline face, it seemed to radiate an intense dislike of what it was seeing.

"Well, Father?" said Katsurou Sakaki, when an awkward interval of time had elapsed. "Did you have some business to discuss with me, or did you just want to stare at me and congratulate yourself on what a handsome son you managed to produce?"

Mr Sakaki's expression remained as still as though it were set in stone. "I was wondering whether my arrogant, strutting, popinjay of a son had learned some discipline since I last saw him."

Katsurou laughed. "Oh, Father, your flattery will get you nowhere."

"There is a time for jokes and frivolity, and a time for sobriety. A wise man knows the difference."

"Perhaps a wise man does. But a _happy _man knows that it's always time for frivolity, and if there isn't, then he makes some."

"When are you going to demonstrate to me that you are mature and responsible enough to take on my duties?"

"Father, I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not. I'm a Sakaki. We don't change ourselves to suit the world, we change the world to suit ourselves. That's what you taught me. You should be proud of me for carrying on the tradition."

Mr Sakaki leaned back in his chair. "You remember Senator Haidari, the one who's been pushing for an investigation into BioGen?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember him. Ugly chap with glasses. His wife is a fine piece of... a charming woman, though."

"It seems his son has disappeared. I don't suppose you would know anything about that?"

"I? Really, Father, what are you suggesting?"

"You fool," said Mr Sakaki. "You are still a little boy trying to play a man's game. What on earth possessed you to take Haidari's son? Do you ever stop to think before you act?"

Colour was beginning to rise in Katsurou's cheeks, but he replied mildly enough. "I don't see what the problem is. Now that Haidari's son is gone, he won't be so keen to play politics with the big boys. I wasn't stupid enough to hurt the lad. He'll be returned if and when Haidari cooperates."

"One never uses a hammer when one can use a scalpel. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you take a hammer to shatter an eggshell, you only end up hurting yourself."

"I'm afraid that I haven't the patience to decipher your cryptic, yet no doubt highly wise, platitudes today, Father. If you have something to say, why don't you say it plainly?"

"Did you really think I needed your help with Haidari? There were a thousand and one ways to deal with him, and you chose precisely the one that was guaranteed to bring us the attention we needed to avoid."

"Well, Father, didn't you kill St Clair? Pardon me for learning from your example. Was that your idea of how to subtly deal with a problem?"

"St Clair already had a dangerous drug addiction. He was already killing himself. I merely gave him some encouragement. And that was only after I gave him every opportunity to escape."

"Ah, yes, but he had integrity. In the world of politics, an addiction to integrity is more dangerous than a dependence on vileplume dust."

"Stop being flippant, and stop trying to be clever. I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation. Your actions have jeopardised the operation of the entire company. Supposing the police investigate and find evidence linking the boy's disappearance to you? What then?"

"Father, don't you give me any credit?" Katsurou asked, and there was plain annoyance in his voice now. "Do you think I'm so stupid as to leave a trail for them to follow?"

"I don't know. Every time you speak to me you seem determined to prove just how stupid you are."

"Well, you know where I get it from."

_Smack. _Mr Sakaki slapped his son across the face, so hard it left an angry red impression on Katsurou's left cheek. There was a moment of stunned silence, and then one of Katsurou's pokemon made a mistake. The machoke had been employed to protect Katsurou from danger, but unlike the gurdurr, it wasn't smart enough to realise that defending anybody from Mr Sakaki was a bad idea. The machoke raised its left hand as if to strike Mr Sakaki, and that was the last thing it ever did.

A streak of cream-coloured fur shot past the machoke, hitting it with such force that the Fighting pokemon was knocked onto its back, crimson blood pouring from its jugular vein. Its throat had been slashed twice, with such viciousness that its neck had almost been severed from its body.

The persian was no longer by the fireplace. It was standing on Mr Sakaki's desk, fur bristling, tail twitching, lips drawn back in a snarl, blood flecking its front paws.

"I have had enough of you for one day," said Mr Sakaki. "Go. And get your machoke some medical attention before it dies."

"Let it die," Katsurou said, with disgust. "It allowed itself to be defeated so easily. How could it protect me when it couldn't even protect itself? I have no use for failures."

"Good," Mr Sakaki said. "I too have no use for failures. Perhaps now you understand why I'm so concerned about you."

Katsurou rose from his seat and walked straight to the door with his head held high, not looking back even once, with the gurdurr following in his wake. The gurdurr, however, did throw a few glances back at where its former colleague was lying dead on the floor.

Just before Katsurou left, he paused and said to his father, "You know, one day my pokemon will be stronger than yours. We'll see who's the failure then."

Mr Sakaki grunted. "You still don't understand. You have so much to learn, about power, about business, about family, about everything… so much to learn, before you are worthy of being called my son."

After Katsurou left, Mr Sakaki pressed the button on his intercom. "Mariel, there's been a small accident in here. Kindly get it cleaned up."

Mariel opened the door and took in the sight of the dead machoke lying on the floor in a pool of its own blood. If she felt surprise, she didn't show it. "I'll call the cleaners at once, sir."

"And after that's taken care of, tell Dr Yue I will see her immediately."

"Very good, sir." She closed the door behind her as she left.

Sakaki clasped his hands and returned his gaze to the tapestry on the wall.

Beside the fireplace, the persian meticulously licked the blood off its paws and groomed itself, returning its fur to its pristine condition, before lying down and stretching into a lazy pose. It closed its eyes and a deep purr rumbled in its chest.


	11. Basic Training

Blaine and Barak made their way through the streets of Scarlet Town, heading for the local gym after quite a nice day out and about. They'd had a late lunch in a café, and Barak had been very happy when Blaine got him a bowl of mixed nuts and seeds that probably weighed twice as much as he did. He'd attracted a lot of attention from younger children who wanted to pet him and play with him, and he seemed to enjoy being fussed over. Blaine had been nervous, though, because pichu were quite rare pokemon, so it wouldn't be wise to make a habit of drawing attention to themselves.

After lunch she'd checked into one of the local hotels called Sunny Lodge. She'd browsed the internet looking for places that were both cheap enough to conserve her money and expensive enough to be in a relatively safe neighbourhood, and finally she'd decided that Sunny Lodge fitted the bill. Her room was very reasonable for $50 a day, with a single bed, a comp, a wardrobe, a fridge, a little kitchen and an en suite bathroom. She'd packed the items she needed for gym training into a small bag and left her bulky backpack behind in the wardrobe.

The gym was a short distance away. It was an Unranked gym, which meant that it couldn't award badges to challengers, but it was still affiliated with the Pokemon League and served as a gathering place for trainers, with all the facilities needed for pokemon training.

Barak had hatched about five or six hours ago, and Blaine was determined to begin his training right away. She couldn't afford to delay. Although she was quite sure that Lachlan would not be harmed in the near future, because the kidnappers would be using him to blackmail her father, it would take her a long time to assemble a team of even moderately effective pokemon. And in that time, who knew what would happen? Maybe her father would refuse to cooperate, or maybe the kidnappers would decide that it was too much trouble keeping Lachlan alive, so… no, she wouldn't finish that last thought. Anyway, the point was that she didn't have time to waste.

It was her fault that Lachlan had been kidnapped. She didn't doubt that for a second. If she hadn't fought with him, he would have stayed at home playing with her and Florian instead of running off by himself. It occurred to her that she hadn't ever been very nice to Lachlan. Well, he was annoying. He was younger than her and always followed her around asking stupid questions, and it wasn't fair that he got to have a pokemon while she didn't. But none of that excused her for not being nice to him, and she knew it.

It was her fault he'd been kidnapped, but she wasn't going to waste time feeling sorry for herself or wallowing in self-pity. She had made a mistake, and now she was going to fix it by bringing Lachlan back, if it was the last thing she ever did.

All she knew about his kidnappers was that they were linked to the BioGen Corporation. Although she wasn't interested in politics, despite having a politician father (or perhaps because of it), she did know that her father had been calling for a public inquiry into the BioGen company for a while now, and she knew that BioGen had links to criminal organisations. That was the only clue she had to who had taken Lachlan.

As she walked along, she looked up BioGen once again on her port. It was an old company, founded almost 200 years ago by a Mr Daichi Sakaki and handed down through an unbroken chain of direct descendants for six generations. The current CEO, Mr Rikuto Sakaki still had the same surname as the original founder of BioGen. Around sixty years ago the company had undergone a massive expansion, becoming one of the most powerful and influential corporations on the planet. It was around this time that allegations of criminal conduct also began to surface.

Thinking about the massive corporate machine she was planning to go up against made Blaine feel extremely nervous, her mouth going dry and her stomach a little queasy. She put her port away and decided not to think about it for the moment. She knew that obsessing about it would only make things worse. The important thing was to be prepared, to think ahead and to be realistic in her expectations of what she could accomplish. First she had to find Lachlan, then she would take him and run. But to do that, she first needed a strong team of pokemon.

The gym was a modern-looking building surrounded by glass and silver panels, with a white roof bearing a sculpture of a machamp lifting four globes in its four hands. Blaine stepped through the rotating glass doors and into a brightly-lit lobby. She approached the man behind the counter.

"Hi," she said. "I would like to register for a gym session."

The man looked at her strangely. He was quite young and probably a regular gym-goer himself, judging by his physique.

He said. "It's ten dollars for a one hour session. Is this your first time here? If you buy one of our memberships, you can use any Pokemon League gym in any city."

After carefully considering all the options, Blaine bought a silver membership and proceeded into the main hall of the gym. There were something like forty other trainers there, and twice as many pokemon. Barak became a little agitated, moving around on her shoulder, probably overexcited due to all the other pokemon, the bright lights and the flat surfaces that made sounds echo loudly.

Blaine could see that it would be a bad idea to begin training Barak out here in the main hall. According to her pokemon training manual, it was best to begin training in a quiet, confined environment where the pokemon wouldn't be distracted or intimidated by anything going on around them. Blaine had a feeling that Barak would not take easily to training, and she didn't want to create any unnecessary obstacles, so she entered a private booth.

Once inside, she hefted Barak and placed him on a seat, before reaching inside her bag and withdrawing a bag of candied seeds. Instantly, Barak gave her his full attention. Holding the port in her left hand, she flicked through it until she found the page she was looking for.

_A fundamental part of the education of a healthy pokemon is its obedience training. Obedience training, when successful, allows a pokemon to understand and carry out the commands of its trainer. These commands fall into two categories: general commands and battle commands. We will begin with the general commands, as the basic general commands are simpler than the basic battle commands. Later we will introduce more complex commands in both categories._

_Please note that commands in this guide are divided into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced stages. Beginner commands may be attempted by any novice trainer with any newly caught pokemon. Intermediate commands should only be attempted when the trainer and pokemon have had some time to gain trust and experience with each other. Advanced commands will tax even highly skilled trainers and their pokemon. _

_Although you may be enthusiastic and eager to rush straight into the higher level commands, it is best to progress through the lessons slowly. Attempting commands of an unreasonably high level, which your pokemon cannot possibly achieve, will only have a discouraging effect on both trainer and pokemon. It may even make the trainer frustrated and impatient with the pokemon, causing a mutual loss of trust, and damaging the relationship. Be patient and realistic in your expectations. Remember that every pokemon is an individual. Like humans, pokemon grow at different rates and have different skills._

_Some pokemon trainers move too quickly into trying to teach advanced techniques, expecting their pokemon to perform Fire Blast or Hyro Pump before they learn to perform Tackle or Tail Whip. Not only is this certain to fail, it is dangerous to your pokemon's health to train them in high pressure techniques when they lack the experience and stamina required. Advanced techniques consume a great deal of energy and put intense strain on a pokemon's body, so pokemon should not attempt them until their bodies are fully developed through exercise and training. Imagine if your parents had expected you to run a marathon before you learnt to walk. Remember, always respect your pokemon's health!_

_When giving commands to your pokemon, the two main elements involved are communication and reinforcement. Communication means letting the pokemon know exactly what you want it to do. Reinforcement means creating a connection in your pokemon's mind between obedience and a reward or disincentive. A reward should be given when a command is obeyed, and can be a treat, petting, praise or some other activity that your pokemon enjoys. A disincentive may be given when a command is disobeyed, and can include withholding a treat, withholding attention or returning the pokemon to its pokeball. Use disincentive sparingly and only in serious cases, because positive reinforcement is kinder and more effective. Never use physical violence as a punishment. Not only is it cruel and ineffective in the long term, it can cause your pokemon to become aggressive and violent, thus creating a danger for yourself and others._

_In order for communication to occur, you must have a positive relationship with your pokemon. Ideally your pokemon will view you with friendship, trust and respect. If a pokemon dislikes or disrespects you, it will not pay attention to your attempts at communication. Try spending some quality time with a pokemon before you begin training, in order to give it an opportunity to bond with you._

_Now, let us begin with some basic commands that every pokemon should know. The first of these commands is Sit. Holding a treat in one hand, give your pokemon the command, "Sit", in a loud, clear voice. At the same time bring the treat close to your pokemon's face and raise it above their head. This should cause your pokemon to settle back onto their hindquarters. If they do not, you may have to gently apply pressure on your pokemon's hindquarters while giving the command. When your pokemon successfully executes the command, allow them to have the treat, while praising and petting them. Repeat the exercise several times until your pokemon can reliably execute the Sit command._

That sounded easy enough.

"Okay, Barak," said Blaine. "Sit." She brought one of the candied seeds close to his little face and raised it slightly above and beyond his nose. To her surprise, he instantly sat back on his hind legs. "Good boy!" she said, allowing the seed to drop. He snatched it up in his paws and popped it into his mouth, chewing industriously for a few seconds before swallowing it down. Instantly, his gaze returned to the packet in her hand. "All right, let's try that a few more times."

They repeated the Sit command five more times, until Barak was so well-practiced that he would sit immediately whenever Blaine spoke the command. He was obviously a very intelligent pokemon, seeming to understand intuitively what Blaine wanted him to do, and he was eager to win more of those delicious seeds. After half an hour of further training, they had mastered Sit, Beg, Stay and Come.

"Good boy," Blaine said, rubbing him behind the ears and tickling his cheeks. At this rate, they would be ready for their first battle in a few days, but it was still far too early to get complacent. Barak wouldn't defeat anyone by sitting on them. "You know what? Let's try one of the battle commands now."


End file.
